Senate set to finish work on student loan deal WASHINGTON (AP) — Borrowing for tuition, housing and books would be less expensive for students this fall but the costs would start climbing almost immediately under a deal the Senate was poised to pass Wednesday. The bipartisan proposal lawmakers were considering would link interest rates on federal student loans to the financial markets, providing lower interest rates right away but higher ones if the economy improves as expected. Senate aid...

Experts: Gas in Gulf blowout is less damaging NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A blown-out natural gas well blazing off Louisiana’s coast poses fewer environmental dangers than past offshore accidents because it appears to primarily involve gas that disperses relatively easily, scientists said Wednesday. “A gas well’s not going to result in any kind of major pollution — perhaps not even significant pollution if it’s burning,” said Ted Bourgoyne, the former chair of Louisiana State University’s petroleu...

Weiner faces growing calls to quit mayor’s race NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Weiner is forging ahead with his mayoral campaign and shrugging off calls for him to quit amid a new round of revelations about his salacious online dalliances with women. The ex-congressman was greeted with boos as he took the stage at a public housing meeting Wednesday evening. But by the end of his remarks, the crowd loudly cheered. Some rivals, newspapers and a former congressional colleague are pressing the Democra...

House narrowly rejects effort to halt NSA program WASHINGTON (AP) — The House narrowly rejected a challenge to the National Security Agency’s secret collection of hundreds of millions of Americans’ phone records Wednesday night after a fierce debate pitting privacy rights against the government’s efforts to thwart terrorism. The vote was 217-205 on an issue that created unusual political coalitions in Washington, with libertarian-leaning conservatives and liberal Democrats pressing for the ch...

Ford 2Q shines as North America, Asia lead the way DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is finally becoming the well-rounded company it aspires to be. Almost bankrupt last decade because it relied too heavily on selling big trucks and SUVs in North America, the second-largest U.S. automaker is now making small and midsize cars at a profit and selling them across the globe. Ford’s Asian operations earned a record quarterly profit of $117 million in the three months ended June 30, and 20 percen...

Pentagon delaying fighter jet delivery to Egypt WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is delaying delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt in light of the military overthrow of Mohammed Morsi as president, but it has not decided whether to suspend military aid more broadly, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Pentagon press secretary George Little said President Barack Obama made the decision to hold up the F-16 delivery while the administration continues to review options and consult with Congress on mil...

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo see soda declines continue NEW YORK (AP) — It seems that not even Beyonce or new, lower-calorie options can convince Americans to drink more soda. Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. all sold less soda in the second quarter in North America, dashing hopes for the moment that splashy new marketing and different sweetener mixes could get drinkers back. Coca-Cola Co. said it sold 4 percent less soda in North America, while PepsiCo Inc. simply said ...

White House: GOP immigration remark ’unfortunate’ WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Wednesday condemned a Republican congressman’s assertion that many immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as kids are actually running drugs. White House press secretary Jay Carney said the comments from Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, “were extremely unfortunate, and I think a number of people have pointed out that they were offensive.” “They certainly don’t help any efforts by Republicans to improve their stan...

The perfect fit: Wonderbra maker to buy Maidenform NEW YORK (AP) — It’s the perfect fit. Two of the world’s top bra makers are coming together in the biggest development in the $11.5 billion underwear industry in years. Hanesbrands, which makes the Wonderbra, said Tuesday that it agreed to buy bra and underwear company Maidenform Brands Inc. for about $547 million. The deal would add brands like Maidenform, Flexees and Self Expressions to the Hanesbrand roster that includes Playtex, Bali, Cham...

Judge freezes challenges to Detroit bankruptcy DETROIT (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday swept aside lawsuits challenging Detroit’s bankruptcy, settling the first major dispute in the scramble to get a leg up just days after the largest filing by a local government in U.S. history. After two hours of arguments, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes made clear he’s in charge. He granted Detroit’s request to put a permanent freeze on three lawsuits filed in Ingham County, including another j...

Witness to Emmett Till lynching dies in Illinois CHICAGO (AP) — Hearing the screams of 14-year-old lynching victim Emmett Till from inside a Mississippi barn left a teenage field hand with an unbearable choice. He could tell a courtroom and risk paying for it with his life or keep quiet and let those screams eat away at his conscience. Grisly photos of Till’s mutilated body, discovered three days later by a fisherman in the Tallahatchie River, left Willie Louis with no doubt about what he wo...

FDA: Menthol cigarettes likely pose health risk RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Food and Drug Administration review concludes that menthol cigarettes likely pose a greater public health risk than regular cigarettes but does not make a recommendation on whether to limit or ban the minty smokes — one of the few growth sectors of the shrinking cigarette business. The federal agency released the independent review on Tuesday and is seeking input from the health community, the tobacco industry and others...

A volatile summer for Hollywood NEW YORK (AP) — On and off screen, it’s been a bruising summer for Hollywood. Every weekend, the multiplex has been under siege like it has rarely been before. One after another, they have come: Big-budget, globe-trotting blockbusters backed, like goliaths with air support, by marketing budgets in the hundreds of millions. As the studios have focused increasingly on the fortunes of monster-sized “tentpoles,” as they’re known in the trade, week...

No more mail at your door? Delivery changes eyed WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans for generations have come to depend on door-to-door mail delivery. It’s about as American as apple pie. But with the Postal Service facing billions of dollars in annual losses, the delivery service could be virtually phased out by 2022 under a proposal a House panel was considering Wednesday. Curbside delivery, which includes deliveries to mailboxes at the end of driveways, and cluster box delivery would replace let...

House GOP, Democrats clash over immigration WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans took a tentative step toward offering citizenship to some unauthorized immigrants Tuesday, but hit an immediate wall of resistance from the White House on down as Democrats said it wasn’t enough. The dismissive reaction to the GOP proposal to offer eventual citizenship to some immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children underscored the difficulties of finding any compromise in the Republican-led Hou...

GOP, Dems divided alike on foreign policy issues WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s limited attempt to end more than two years of bloodshed in Syria and his insistence on U.S. assistance to a strife-riven Egypt have exposed deep divisions in Congress, with pockets of grudging support countered by fierce opposition toward greater American military and financial involvement among Democrats and Republicans alike. The uneven reaction is partly a reflection of the Obama administration’s o...

Texas attorney general campaigns from wheelchair HOUSTON (AP) — The stage at a Houston honky-tonk has a wheelchair ramp. At another rally, Greg Abbott’s aides lay plywood boards on the ground to make a smooth path over wet grass. Other stops have no speaking platform, making it hard for standing crowds to see the candidate at all. It’s another day on the campaign trail for Abbott, the longtime Texas attorney general who is paralyzed from the waist down, as he tells voters his personal and po...

Obama, lawmakers square off over NSA authority WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration squared off with skeptical lawmakers Tuesday over efforts to terminate the government’s authority to collect phone records of millions of Americans, a proposition that exposed sharp divisions among members of Congress. With a vote nearing on amendments to a $598.3 million bill to fund the military, the White House raised the alarm over a move to end the National Security Agency’s authority under the U...

Lawmaker urges steps to open Japanese markets WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Democratic leader on trade policy on Tuesday said the time is right to press Japan on its closed markets as Japan formally joins the United States and 10 other Asia-Pacific nations in negotiations to create a major new trade bloc. Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, proposed that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, talks should link the reduction of U.S. auto tariffs to the ...

FDA cracks down on illegal diabetes remedies WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on more than a dozen companies that market illegal treatments for diabetes, ranging from bogus dietary supplements to prescription drugs sold online without a prescription. All of the products aim to cash in on the country’s diabetes epidemic, which affects nearly 26 million Americans. Regulators worry that consumers who buy such unapproved products could put off getting legit...